Prince William Refused King Charles’ Request to Attend Key Event for a Sweet Reason: Author
A royal expert claims Prince William reportedly refused to attend a royal event despite King Charles allegedly wanting him there.
King Charles has spent his entire life preparing for the throne and is now governing on his own terms. His approach, though, has not met with universal agreement—particularly from his heir. According to a royal expert, Prince William does not comply with every command issued by the King.
Royal author Norman Baker told the Daily Mail, “If you are looking for a royal to cut a ribbon, you are unlikely to secure the attendance of Prince William.” He also claimed that William is less active on the royal engagement front than both Charles and his aunt, Princess Anne. He added, “We might have expected William to represent the royals at events like the funeral for U.S. President Jimmy Carter, given his father's health ruled out transatlantic travel.”
However, Baker made a bombshell revelation, saying, “It is rumored that Charles ordered him to go, but he refused as it was Kate's 43rd birthday...Prince Edward, 14th in line to the throne, was dispatched instead.” Given that Princess Kate was recovering from cancer, it is easy to see why William reportedly chose to spend the day with her. The Prince and Princess of Wales have long been open about putting family first while raising Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in the spotlight.
The royal author also highlighted Prince William's absence from key events, noting that he and Kate were missing from the 2025 Easter service in Windsor while other senior royals attended. Baker added, “William has stated firmly that his family must come first, and while that is laudable in some ways, is it really possible for the heir to the throne to absent himself from royal duties?”
Despite Baker's concerns, William's approach does not appear to have hurt his popularity with the public. A 2025 YouGov survey conducted for The Times found that 56 percent of US adults viewed Prince Harry positively, while 21 percent held a negative opinion of him. On the other hand, William performed even better, earning a 63 percent positive rating and just 10 percent negative, making him the most popular living royal among Americans. The late Princess Diana topped the list overall, with 79 percent of respondents viewing her positively and only 4 percent negatively.
By choosing to put Kate and their children first, William is taking a different approach to royal life than previous generations. Whether that is a good thing or not is up for debate, but it has clearly become a big part of how he wants to do things.
